Acid King
Acid King are a stoner metal band originating from San Fransisco, California. Forming in 1993 by frontwoman Lori S. along with bassist Peter Lucas and drummer Joey Osbourne the trio quickly earned a reputation among the stoner scene for their heavy low-end sound, their spacey atmosphere and Lori's distinctive vocal delivery. Since their formation Acid King has released four albums to date along with a host of split and EP releases and Lori being the sole original member. Their second and third albums in Busse Woods and III solidified their place among the top stoner acts as by the mid 2000s Acid King would regularly tour all over the world. The band's name and song content are taken from the satanic stoner Ricky Kasso, known for his chronic hallucinogenic drug usage. Kasso attained the nickname "Acid King" by his peers for his excessive usage and notably murdered his friend Gary Lauwers in Northport, New York on 19 June 1984. Upon purchasing a book based loosely on the events titled Say You Love Satan (Penned by David St. Claire) the band would get their name./ Zeromag via Wayback Machine Notably Lori S. would have new members read the book as a "rite of initiation" before officially joining, with few exceptions. Kasso's likeness was used on the band's debut EP and several songs had been written about him by the band. History Early Years, Zoroaster and Busse Woods (1993 - 2000) Lori S. would start Acid King in 1993 when she would put an ad in the local newspaper seeking out a bassist and drummer to make a very large and low-end sound. Peter Lucas would answer the call as the band's first bassist and read Say You Love Satan as a rite of passage to join the band. The two began harvesting heavy riffs while in search of the third. After several months in search of a drummer and getting frustrated, Lori was at a party and screamed out "anyone know any drummers?" Enter one Joey Osbourne whose Ritalin style drumming was just what Acid King was looking for (And would also read Say You Love Satan as a rite of passage). Acid King's first live performance would be at Lennon Rehearsal Studios in San Fransisco (With Luv Hammer).Setlist.fm Acid King started playing the club scene in SF and was lucky to score some killer opening slots with some of their favorite bands like Melvins, Sleep, Nik Turner's Hawkwind and The Obsessed. In 1994 after putting a handful of songs together, the band put out its debut 10" EP on Sympathy for the Record Industry, produced by Dale Crover and engineered by Billy Anderson. The band continued playing SF shows and started going on small West Coast tours. In the Fall of 1995, they released their debut album Zoroaster. In the summer of 1996 Acid King set out on their first U.S. tour. The tour took the band from L.A. to New Orleans, The East Coast, the Midwest and back home. When reaching Kalamazoo, Michigan, Peter decided he had enough of Acid King and announced he was leaving the band. Acid King had shows already booked in LA and needed a bass player fast. In a panic Lori called up Dan Southwick, bass player for Altamont. Although he never read the book, Dan's ace musicianship and deference to Ricky Kasso translated into a full-time slot with the King as he learned all the songs in two weeks. Following the tour the band had a few new songs and were introduced to Frank Kozik, owner of Man's Ruin Records. Upon quickly signing with the label in 1997 they went back into the studio and recorded their first release for Man's Ruin, a 10" titled Down with the Crown (Released on 25 July). The EP would also be released as a split CD with Altamont. After the release and small West Coast tours with Melvins and Fu Manchu to support it, the band started concentrating on new material. However in the Spring of 1998 Southwick would leave the group. Lori would then recruit Brian Hill (Buzzov*en, Spilth) and he would read SYLS as a rite of passage. He'd tour with the band in 1998, performing with Goatsnake, Fatso Jetson and Queens of the Stone Age among others. Hill, Osbourne and Lori would begin work on Acid King's second album. Busse Woods would be released via Man's Ruin Records on 10 September 1999 and would be praised as an essential album in stoner metal. In support of the record Acid King would tour with Altamont but after that tour would be finished Hill would leave the band. Guy Pinhas (The Obsessed, Goatsnake, Beaver) would join the group (and read SYLS) in 1999 and record a handful of songs with the band, later released as a split with The Mystick Crewe of Clearlight in 2001. Acid King would also notably tour with High on Fire in 2000.Acid King via Wayback MachineAcid King via Wayback Machine III (2001 - 2013) 2001 would see Acid King largely performing in the West Coast, sharing the stage with the likes of Electric Wizard, Spirit Caravan, Warhorse, Operator Generator and High on Fire among others. This would build up to an appearance in October at Stoner Hands of Doom Festival, that year being in Austin, TX. The next year would see largely weekender tours with the likes of Dixie Witch and Bongzilla as work on new material slowly began. The next year amid a host of shows the trio would venture to Ohio for an appearance at Emissions from the Monolith. Acid King would notably sign with Small Stone Records and after a March tour with Drunk Horse would release III on 21 June 2005, produced by Billy Anderson. III would attain praise across the board from various publications such as Sputnikmusic,Sputnikmusic Your Last Rites,Your Last Rites and Exclaim!Exclaim! among others. What would follow would be the trio's first ever tour of Europe. However by the end of that tour Pinhas would leave and Black Cobra drummer Rafael Martinez would take over on bass. The next year Acid King would tour Japan with Eternal Elysium and then the United States with Black Cobra and Eternal Elysium. That same year a compilation of their early material saw release in form of The Early Years, via Japanese label Leaf Hound Records. In a 2007 interview with Stonerrock.com, Lori would speak about the band's first adventures to new continents: 2007 would see them back in Europe with Black Cobra and Blutch, including an appearance at Roadburn Festival. Kreation Records at this point would have a hand in vinyl reissues of Busse Woods and III along with reissues of the Man's Ruin splits and The Early Years a few years later. Acid King would regularly tour Europe over the next few years with notable exceptions being a 2009 California show with Ufomammut (Notably Ufomammut's first appearance in the United States), the band's first ever Australian tour in 2012 and the band's first of many appearances at Hellfest that same year. Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere (2014 - Present) While new material had been written and in the works for some time no new studio releases had some since 2005. New songs would appear in the set as early as 2013 and on 18 December 2014 a new album would finally be announced along with European dates in the Spring.The Obelisk Working with Finnish label Svart Records with Billy Anderson once again handling production, Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere would be released on 14 April 2015 to critical acclaim. In an interview with The Obelisk, Lori would explain the long songwriting process for the record and the changing of engineers and producers: Touring with Black Cobra once again the trio would begin support for their fourth album which would include appearances at DesertFest London, DesertFest Berlin and Heavy Days in Doomtown. The band would also notably embark on their first United States tour in nine years. The next year would see more sporadic shows and festival appearances, including Desert Generator and Psycho Las Vegas before returning to Australia as part of Doomsday Festival. However by the end of 2016 bassist Mark Lamb and drummer Joey Osbourne would leave the group, with Rafa Martinez returning on bass and new drummer Bil Bowman joining. In an interview with Marquee Mag Lori S. would explain the departure of her longtime bandmates: With a new lineup the trio would hit the road once again for a host of festival appearances including Maryland Deathfest, Electric Funeral Fest, Modified Ghost Festival and a tour of Europe which would include appearances at Stoned From The Underground, Red Smoke Festival and Lake on Fire Festival among others. The year would close out with a pre-show appearance at the inaugural Days of Darkness.Last.fm 2018 would see the band touring North America alongside Yob and CHRCH before returning to Europe for appearances at Into The Void Festival and Desertfest Belgium. In 2019 the band is slated for their first appearances in Russia and a return to Hellfest among other dates. On 21 May 2019 Acid King would announce a North American tour in support of the 20th anniversary of Busse Woods. Discography Studio Albums * Zoroaster (1995, Sympathy For The Record Industry) * Busse Woods (1999, Man's Ruin Records) * III (2005, Small Stone Recordings) * Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere (2015, Svart Records) Misc. Releases * Acid King (EP) (1994, Sympathy For The Record Industry) * Down With The Crown (EP) (1997, Man's Ruin Records) * Split with Altamont (1997, Man's Ruin Records) * Free... / The Father, The Son and the Holy Smoke (Split with The Mystick Crewe of Clearlight (2001, Man's Ruin Records) * Free / Down With The Crown (Compilation) (2006, Kreation Records) * The Early Years (Compilation) (2006, Leaf Hound Records) Members Current Lineup * Lori S. - Guitar, Vocals (1993 - Present) * Rafael Martinez - Bass (2005 - 2008, 2017 - Present) * Bil Bowman - Drums (2017 - Present) Past Members * Joey Osbourne - Drums (1993 - 2017) * Peter Lucas - Bass, Vocals (1993 - 1996) * Dan Southwick - Bass (1996 - 1998) * Brian Hill - Bass (1998 - 1999) * Guy Pinhas - Bass (1999 - 2005) * Mark Lamb - Bass (2008 - 2017) * Dale Crover - Contributor (1993 - 1999) List of Known Tours NOTE: This is only a partial list. Tours will be added when found. *'1996 North American Tour' (1996) *'1998 Mini-Tour' (With Goatsnake, Fatso Jetson, Queens of the Stone Age) (1998)Acid King Facebook *'1999 North American Tour' (With Altamont, Honky) (1999)/ Man's Ruin Records via Wayback Machine *'The Art of Self Defense North American Tour (Fall)' (With High on Fire) (2000)/ Man's Ruin Records via Wayback Machine *'Spring 2001 Shows' (2001)/ Man's Ruin Records via Wayback Machine *'III European Tour' (2005)Acid King Official *'Acid King Japan Tour' (With Eternal Elysium) (2006) *'Bestial September Tour' (With Eternal Elysium, Black Cobra) (2006)Lambgoat *'2007 European Tour' (With Black Cobra, Blutch) (2007)Last.fm *'2009 European Tour' (With Suma) (2009)Acid King Facebook *'2010 Australian Tour' (As part of Doomsday Festival) (2010)The Obelisk *'2011 European Tour' (With Carlton Melton) Last.fm *'2012 European Tour' (With Suma; Select dates with Sardonis, Slabdragger, Saint Vitus) (2012)Last.fm *'2013 European Tour' (2013)Last.fm *'2014 European Tour' (2014)Last.fm *'Center of Everywhere European Tour' (With Black Cobra) (2015)Last.fm *'Center of Everywhere US Tour' (2015)The Obelisk *'Center of Everywhere Australian Tour' (2016)Acid King via Wayback Machine *'2017 European Tour' (With Child, Elder, King Buffalo(2017)The ObeliskThe Obelisk *'2018 North American Tour' (With CHRCH, Yob) (2018)The Obelisk *'2018 Fall European Tour' (Select dates with Child) (2018) *'2019 European Tour' (2019) *'Busse Woods 20th Anniversary Tour' (With Wizard Rifle, Warish) (2019)The Obelisk External Links Official Links *Acid King Instagram *Acid King Facebook *Acid King Bandcamp Archival Links *Acid King's first concert! */ 2000 Interview via Stonerrock.com */ 2007 Interview via Stonerrock.com */ 2005 Tour Diary Part One */ 2005 Tour Diary Part Two *Middle of Nowhere Center of Everywhere Review via The Obelisk *Announcement *Friday Full-Length */ Archived Shows 2000 - 2013 via Wayback Machine References Category:Band Category:San Francisco Category:California Category:USA Category:Stoner Metal Category:Doom Metal Category:Acid King Category:Lori S.